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Jefferson County gives up plans to develop play areas at Crown Hill Park

Vitus Germann, 81, says he walks every day in Crown Hilll Park. We found him Feb. 8, 2013 (THE DENVER POST file | Joe Amon)

A coyote spots a movement in the tall grass at CrownHillPark in Wheat Ridge on Thursday, January 10, 2013. (Lindsay Pierce, YourHub file)

Jefferson County Open Space will not develop a play area dubbed "Nature Place" at Crown Hill Park after learning public sentiment, officials announced Friday.

Crown Hill Park, tucked between Wheat Ridge and Lakewood, is one of the most popular parks in the Jeffco system.

After hearing public outcry against development at community meetings and in surveys, officials said, they have decided to forgo previous plans to construct environmental learning and "nature play" features at the park, such as a boulder-climbing area and a wooden structure for climbing called "The Perch."

Many park users wanted the park, with its lake, grasslands and wildlife, to remain in a less-developed state. They staged demonstrations at the park to protest construction plans.

Jeffco Open Space also had asked the community whether deteriorating fitness equipment installed at the park in the 1980s should be replaced and whether a pergola providing seasonal shade should be constructed near the parking lot and restroom. Community comments were evenly split and inconclusive on these matters, officials said Friday.

Jeffco will hold another meeting on the subject, 6 to 8 p.m. April 30 at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling St. in Wheat Ridge.

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